Newspaper Accountsof theNew Madrid
Earthquake

Newspaper Accounts of the New Madrid
Earthquake

Savannah, Dec. 23, 1811

ST. LOUIS

Saturday, February 22

By a gentleman just from Arkansas, by way of White river, we
learn that the earthquake was violent in that quarter that in
upwards of 500 places he observed coal and sand thrown up from
fissures in the earth, that the waters raised in a swamp near the
Cherokee village, so as to drown a Mr. Carrin who was travelling
with his brother, the latter saved himself on a log. - In other
places the water fell, and in one instant it rose in a swamp near
the St. Francis 25 or 30 feet; Strawberry a branch of Black
river, an eminence about 1-1/2 acres sunk down and formed a pond.

The Earthquake noticed in our list has been felt in various
parts of the country. The paper from Richmond, Falenton(?),
Wilmington, Charleston and Savannah, mention the phenomenon-- In
Charleston, six distinct shocks were felt; the first and most
violent about 3 o'clock, and one minute and a half in duration.
It was very severe and alarming; indeed, the vibration was so
great as to see some of the church bells ringing- the pendulums
of the clocks stopped, and the picture glasses in many houses
were broken.

Saturday, February 29, 1812

EARTHQUAKE

New Orleans, December 26

A letter from Fort Stoddert mentions, that on the morning of
the 16th past, two shocks of an earthquake had been felt. This is
precisely the time it was felt at Natchez. It is evident that our
being on an island and resting on the water, prevented us from
feeling part of the shocks.

Cape Girardeau, Feb. 15th, 1812

The concussions of the earthquake still continue, the shock on
the 23rd ult. was more severe and larger than that of the 16th
Dec. and the shock of the 7th inst. was still more violent than
any preceding, and lasted longer than perhaps any on record,
(from 10 to 15 minutes, the earth was not at rest for one hour.)
the ravages of this dreadful convulsion have nearly depopulated
the district of New Madrid, but few remain to tell the sad tale,
the inhabitants have fled in every direction. It has done
considerable damage in this place by demolishing chimnies, and
cracking cellar walls. Some have been driven from their houses,
and a number are yet in tents. No doubt volcanoes in the
mountains of the west, which have been extinguished for ages, are
now opened.

Saturday, March 7, 1812

Orleans, January 13

THE EARTHQUAKE

By a gentleman who came on the Steam Boat we are informed that
this convulsion of nature, (the first, we believe that has ever
been felt on the Mississippi since the settlement of the country
by the whites,) has destroyed several islands in the Mississippi,
and has thereby endangered its navigation very considerably. He
also states that it has sunk the land in a number of places on
the margin of the river.

Mr. Charless,

I here give you an extract of a letter, dated Orleans January
16th, from my friend John Bradbury. It will be found to contain
some information relative to the effects of the earthquake of
16th Dec. on the Mississippi river and its banks; permit me to
add that you have no information from any source which can be
more implicitly relied on.

Yours, H.W.D.

EXTRACT

"Our voyage was from various causes tedious and
disagreeable, we being 28 days from St. Louis to this place, Mr.
Comegys has fared worse, being two months. Our progress was
considerably impeded by an alarming and awful earthquake, such as
has not I believe, occurred, or at least has not been recorded in
the history of this country. The first shock which we experienced
was about 2 o'clock on the morning of the 16th Dec. at which time
our position was in itself perilous, we being but a few hundred
yards above a bad place in the river, called the Devils Race
Ground:* in our situation particularly, the scene was
terrible beyond description, our boat appeared as if alternately
lifted out of the water, and again suffered to fall. The banks
above, below and around us were falling every moment into the
river, all nature seemed running into chaos. The noise
unconnected with particular objects, was the noise of the most
violent tempest of wind mixed with a sound equal to the loudest
thunder, but more hollow and vibrating. The crashing of falling
trees and the loud screeching of wild fowl made up the horrid
concert. Two men were sent on shore in order to examine the state
of the bank to which we were moored, who reported that a few
yards from its summit, it was separated from the shore by a chasm
of more than 100 yards in length. Jos. Morin, the patron,
insisted on our all leaving the boat which he thought could not
be saved, and of landing immediately in order to save our lives:
- this I successfully combatted until another shock took place,
about 3 o'clock, when we all left the boat, went on shore and
kindled a fire. Between the first shock and daylight, we counted
27. As day broke we put off from the shore, at which instant we
experienced another shock, nearly as violent as the first, by
this the fright of the hands was so much increased, that they
seemed deprived of strength and reason: I directed Morin to land
on a sloping bank at the entrance of the Devil's Race Ground,
intending to wait there until the men should be refreshed with a
good breakfast. While it was preparing, we had three shocks, so
strong as to make it difficult for us to stand on our feet; at
length recovered from our panic we proceeded; after this we felt
shocks during 6 days, but none to compare with those on the
memorable morning of the 16th. I made many and minute
observations on this earthquake, which if ever we meet, I will
communicate to you, &c."

* 120 miles below N. Madrid

Extract of a letter from Orleans dated Feb. 11, to a gentleman
in this place.

"This city has experienced some slight concussion of
earthquake, particularly on the 9th, whilst a number of persons
were at the theatre and the ball, some of whom were much alarmed,
tho' the shock was not severe, nor had done any damage."

Saturday, March 14, 1812

The Earthquake of the 16th of December last was felt as far
North as Charlestown, New Hampshire.

Saturday, March 21, 1812

The Indian mode of worship, as happened in consequence of the
late Earthquakes.

This alarming phenomenon of nature struck with such
consternation and dismay, those tribes of Indians, that live
within and contiguous to that tract of country, on the
Mississippi, where the severity of the earthquake appears to have
been the greatest, that they were induced to convene together in
order to consult upon the necessity of having recourse to some
method of relief, from so alarming an incident; when it was
resolved to fall upon the following expedient to excite the pity
of the Great Spirit. [There follows a description of the
religious ceremony of the Shawnees.]

We are informed from a respectable source that the old road to
the post of Arkansas, by Spring river, is entirely destroyed by
the last violent shocks of earthquake. Chasms of great depth and
considerable length cross the country in various directions, some
swamps have become dry, others deep lakes, and in some places
hills have disappeared.

Pittsburgh, Feb. 14

On Friday morning the 7th inst. about 4 o'clock, a shock of an
Earthquake was severely felt in this town. The effects of this
convulsion were much more sensibly felt, than the one which
happened on the 16th of December. Many of the houses were
violently shaken.

Saturday, April 18, 1812

Accounts from la Haut Missouri, announces a general
peace among the Indians, it is said that the earthquakes has
created this pacification.

Saturday, May 2, 1812

Slight shocks of Earthquake continue to be felt here. On
Wednesday night last, several who were awake declare, they felt a
strong vibration of the Earth.

THE LOUISIANA GAZETTE AND DAILY ADVERTISER
(NEW ORLEANS)

Saturday, December 21, 1811

No mail north of Natchez yesterday. Letters from that city
state that a small earthquake had been felt there some
days ago. From the principles of earthquakes we are surprised it
was not felt here. Earthquakes have generally been felt in
southern mountainous countries; sometimes located to a small
portion of country sometimes more extended. Different nations,
near the Adriatic and Mediterranean, have felt the shock of an
earthquake at the same moment.

The Comet has been passing to the westward since it passed its
perihelion - perhaps it has touched the mountain of
California,
that has given a small shake to this side of the globe - or the
skake
which the Natchezians have felt may be a mysterious
visitation from the Author of all nature, on them for their sins
- wickedness and the want of good faith have long prevailed in
that territory.

Sodom and Gomorrha would have been saved had three
righteous persons been found in it - we therefore hope that
Natchez

Thursday, December 26, 1811

A letter from Fort Stoddert mentions, that on the morning of
the 16th inst. two shocks of an earthquake had been felt.- This
is precisely the time it was felt at Natchez. It is evident that
our being our island and resting as it were on the water,
prevented us from feeling part of the shock.

Tuesday, December 31, 1811

From the Natchez Weekly Chronicle

THE EARTHQUAKE - A hasty Sketch

Natchez, Dec. 18th, 1811

Sir,

Having made a few observations with respect to the Earthquake,
which has drawn the attention of the citizens of this place and
its vicinity within a few days past, I present them, to you
thrown together in a hasty way for publication, if you think fit,
under the impression that they may not be uninteresting to your
readers.

On the morning of Monday last the 16th inst. several shocks
were felt - four have been ascertained by an accurate observer to
have been felt in this city. The principal one, as near as can be
collected, was about ten minutes past two o'clock, A.M. There was
no noise heard in the atmosphere but in a few instances in
certain situations-- The shock was attended by a tremulous motion
of the earth and buildings - felt by some for about one and a
half minutes; by others about five; and my own impression is,
that I am conscious of its lasting at least three, having been
awakened from my sleep. Several clocks were stopped at two or
about ten minutes after. Several articles were thrown off the
shelves; crockery was sent rolling about the floor; articles
suspended from the ceiling of the stores vibrated rapidly without
any air to disturb them, for about nine inches; the plastering in
the rooms of some houses was cracked and injured; the river was
much convulsed, so much that it induced some of the boatmen at
the landing, who supposed the bank was falling in, to cut adrift.
The shocks in the morning were at about six or half after, one of
them considerable. The vibration of suspended articles was,
whenever room would admit them, east to west. Accounts from
Louisiana state, that the first shock was felt about ten minutes
past 2, A.M. at Black river, thirty miles distant, and at
different places on the road to Rapids, where the trees were
violently agitated. It was also felt on the river at a
considerable distance above and below Vidalia. - The shock was
also felt as far up as the Big Black, and at the different
intervening towns; in the vicinity of Washington the trees were
observed to be much convulsed, nodding their heads together as if
coming to the ground.

Another shock was experienced yesterday of fifteen minutes
past eleven o'clock, A.M. The houses in several instances shook
considerably, and the suspended articles in the stores were
violently convulsed. Some clocks were again stopped, and in one
of the stores a cowbell was heard to tinkle.

AN OBSERVER

Tuesday, January 14, 1812

The earthquake that was felt at Natchez on the 16th of
December, has been severely felt above and below the mouth of the
Ohio - we may expect detailed accounts of the damages soon.
Travelers who have descended the river since, generally agree
that a succession of shocks were felt for six days; that the
river Mississippi was much agitated; that it frequently rose 3
and 4 feet, and fell again immediately; and that whole islands
and parts of islands in the river sunk.

Monday, January 20, 1812

We have the following description of the Earthquake from
gentlemen who were on board a large barge, and lay an anchor in
the Mississippi a few leagues below New Madrid, on the night of
the 15th of December. About 2 o'clock all hands were awakened by
the first shock; the impression was, that the barge had dragged
her anchor and was grounding on gravel; such, were the feelings
for 60 or 80 seconds, when the shock subsided. The crew were so
fully persuaded of the fact of their being aground, that they put
out their sounding poles, but found water enough.

At seven next morning a second and very severe shock took
place. The barge was under way - the river rose several feet; the
trees on the shore shook; the banks in large columns tumbled in;
hundreds of old trees that had lain perhaps half a century at the
bottom of the river, appeared on the surface of the water; the
feathered race took to the wing; the canopy was covered with
geese and ducks and various other kinds of wild fowl; very little
wind; the air was tainted with a nitrous and sulphureous smell;
and every thing was truly alarming for several minutes. The
shocks continued to the 21st Dec. during that time perhaps one
hundred were distinctly felt. From the river St. Francis to the
Chickasaw bluffs visible marks of the earthquake were discovered;
from that place down, the banks did not appear to have been
disturbed.

There is one part of this description which we cannot
reconcile with philosophic principles, (although we believe the
narrative to be true,) that is, the trees which were settled at
the bottom of the river appearing on the surface. It must be
obvious to every person that those trees must have become
specifically heavier than the water before they sunk, and of
course after being immersed in the mud must have increased in
weight. - We therefore submit the question to the Philosophical
Society.

Tuesday, January 21, 1812

The earthquake was felt at Pittsburg, Richmond, Norfolk,
Raleigh, and various other parts of the United Sates.

Friday, January 24, 1812

A slight shock of an earthquake was felt in this city
yesterday morning, about nine o'clock. The wind was from the
southward, light and gentle, and the morning fine-- it lasted but
few seconds & but few felt it. At that time all is bustle in
the city - but many proofs, such as clocks stopping, glass
shades, and different kinds of glass ware and crockery shaking,
the feelings of many who were either writing or reading, prove
the fact. We may expect to hear more on the subject from the
northward & eastward

THE PITTSBURGH GAZETTE

Friday, December 20, 1811

On Monday morning last, about three o'clock, the citizens of
this town were greatly alarmed by the shock of an Earthquake; a
number of persons from the shaking of their houses, were so much
alarmed as to jump out of bed. About 7 o'clock, the same morning,
there was another shock, though not so evident as the first.

Friday, December 27, 1811

By accounts from Meadville, and Waterford, we are informed,
that severe shocks of an earthquake were felt at those places on
Monday morning the 16th inst. at the same time of those
experienced here. At Meadville, the one which happened at 3
o'clock was so sensibly felt, that many persons were awaken by
the rocking of their beds, and the trea - - ious motion continued
from 10 to 15 minutes - the one at 8 o'clock was nearly as
severe, but did not continue so long - the top of the trees in
the town were seen to vibrate for about a minute, and the puddles
of water in the streets appeared in waves as if a sudden blast of
wind had passed over them. On Tuesday about the middle of the
day, a third shake was felt, but was slighter than the others.

Friday, January 31, 1812

THE EARTHQUAKE

Extract of a letter from a gentleman on his way to New
Orleans, to a friend in this place (Lexington, Ky.) - dated 20th
December.

"We entered the Mississippi on the morning of the 14th,
and on the night of the 15th came to anchor on a sand bar, about
ten miles above the Little Prairie - half past 2 o'clock in the
morning of the 16th, we were aroused from our slumber by a
violent shaking of the boat - there were three barges and two
keels in company, all effected the same way. The alarm was
considerable and various opinions as to the cause were suggested,
all found to be erroneous; but after the second shock, which
occurred in 15 minutes after the first, it was unanimously
admitted to be an earthquake. With most awful feelings we watched
till morning in trembling anxiety, supposing all was over with
us. We weighed anchor early in the morning, and in a few minutes
after we started there came on in quick successions, two other
shocks, more violent than the former. It was then daylight, and
we could plainly perceive the effect it had on shore. The bank of
the river gave way in all directions, and came tumbling into the
water; the trees were more agitated than I ever before saw them
in the severest storms, and many of them from the shock they
received broke off near the ground, as well as many more torn up
by the roots. We considered ourselves more secure on the water,
than we should be on land, of course we proceeded down the river.
As we progressed the effects of the shock as before described,
were observed in every part of the banks of the Mississippi. In
some places five, ten and fifteen acres have sunk down in a body,
even the Chickasaw Bluffs, which we have passed, did not escape;
one or two of them have fallen in considerably.

The inhabitants of the Little Prairie and its neighborhood all
deserted their homes, and retired back to the hills or swamps.
The only brick chimney in the place was entirely demolished by
the shocks. I have not yet heard that any lives were lost, or
accident of consequence happened. I have been twice on shore
since the first shock, and then but a very short time, as I
thought it unsafe, for the ground is cracked and torn to pieces
in such a way as made it truly alarming; indeed some of the
islands in the river that contained from one to two hundred acres
of land have been nearly all sunk, and not one yet that I have
seen but is cracked from one end to the other, and has lost some
part of it.

There has been in all forty-one shocks, some of them have been
very light; the first one took place at half past 2 on the
morning of the 16th, the last one at eleven o'clock this morning,
(20th) since I commenced writing this letter. The last one I
think was not as severe as some of the former, but it lasted
longer than any of the preceding; I think it continued nearly a
minute and a half. Exclusive of the shocks that were made
sensible to us in the water, there have been, I am induced to
believe, many others, as we frequently heard a rumbling noise at
a distance when no shock to us was perceptible. I am the more
inclined to believe these were shocks, from having heard the same
kind of rumbling with the shocks that affected us. There is one
circumstance that has occurred, which if I had not seen with my
own eyes, I could hardly have believed; which is, the rising of
the trees that lie in the bed of the river. I believe that every
tree that has been deposited in the bed of the river since Noah's
flood, now stands erect out of the water; some of these I saw
myself during one of the hardest shocks rise up eight or ten feet
out of water. The navigation has been rendered extremely
difficult in many places in consequence of the snags being so
extremely thick. From the long continuance and frequency of these
shocks, it is extremely uncertain when they will cease; and if
they have been as heavy at New Orleans as we have felt them, the
consequences must be dreadful indeed; and I am fearful when I
arrive at Natchez to hear that the whole city of Orleans is
entirely demolished, and perhaps sunk.

Immediately after the first shock and those which took place
after daylight, the whole atmosphere was impregnated with a
sulphurous smell."

Friday, February 7, 1812

EARTHQUAKE

New Orleans, December 26.

A letter from Fort Stoddert mentions, that on the morning of
the 16th inst. two shocks of an earthquake had been felt. This is
precisely the time it was felt at Natchez. It is evident that our
being on an island and resting on the water, prevented us from
feeling part of the shock.

Fort St. Stephens, December 24.

On Sunday night the 15th inst. the earth shook here so as to
shake the fowls off their roosts, and made the houses shake very
much, again it shook at sunrise and at 11 o'clock next morning,
and at the same time the next day, and about the same time the
third day after.

Accounts are brought in from the nation that several hunting
Indians who were lately on the Missouri have returned, and state
that the earthquake was felt very sensibly there, that it shook
down trees and many rocks of the mountains, and that everything
bore the appearance of an immediate dissolution of the world! -
We give this as we got it - it may be correct - but the
probability is that it is not.